Mariners off-season mad libs article

[cezero]

2014 Seattle Mariners Mad Libs trade rumor generator - Lookout Landing

I don't always agree with the guy, but this was pretty spot on. Exactly nobody believes that this team will ever get back to contention primarily through free agency.

According to (noun), the Mariners (verb) (nouns) this morning, in what is looking to amount to a(n) (adjective) offseason for a club that finished 2013 with their fourth consecutive losing season, seemingly growing more and more desperate for (nouns) as the offseason progresses.


There has been no official word from (name), but for a club looking to (phrase), they seem ready to (verb) (nouns).

 

[NWinAZ]

I read the article, but I didn't see anything regarding it saying that, "Exactly nobody believes that this team will ever get back to contention primarily through free agency."

Fact is we need to add a lot of talent to contend. The draft is an iffy way of doing it and it takes many, many years. Trading adds talents, but at a cost. I agree that using only one method never works, but using all methods at their respective appropriate time is what is needed. Right now we need to keep adding via the draft, but free agency would put us back on the map as a real team and it could do it fast. Once done, then trades could shape the final product. If management isn't willing/able to get in the top 10-11 in salary, the none of it matters anyways.

 

[cezero]

You don't see how the article pretty explicitly pokes fun at this team's FA pursuits? Really?

Alrighty.

I'm with you about needing to add talent, and I'd love it if high quality free agents wanted to come here. I actually think that Z tries to get them to come here, but they (and their agents) instead choose to go to better teams in bigger media markets that are willing to offer the same salary or more.

 

[NWinAZ]

I disagree that Jack tries to get them here. From what I have read over the last few years is that Jack makes a below market offer and is turned down probably with a laugh. We are bad so we have to overpay to get a guy here and not underpay. By him even making those type offers is just an insult to Mariner fans everywhere.

'Fans' will say M's aren't cheap if they offer a guy like Hamilton $100M or Fielder $150M, but that is all fluff since they both went for $50M-$100M more.

---------------------

"You don't see how the article pretty explicitly pokes fun at this team's FA pursuits? Really?"

It makes fun at M's management for making so called offers when they aren't even in the ballpark on these guys. I don't see it making fun at trying to add talent by using the free agent avenue.

On a seperate free agent note, Larry Stone throws out the idea of M's having $46M to use to get up to last years payroll plus another $25M they get free new MLB TV money. I say increase to $100M which is less than past years and use the extra $25M TV money giving you $125M which was more than my earlier suggestion which said we could afford Napoli, Hart, Choo, Ellsbury, and a top SP and be around $117M. Use the extra $8M for a closer.

 

[cezero]

I disagree that Jack tries to get them here. From what I have read over the last few years is that Jack makes a below market offer and is turned down probably with a laugh. We are bad so we have to overpay to get a guy here and not underpay. By him even making those type offers is just an insult to Mariner fans everywhere.

'Fans' will say M's aren't cheap if they offer a guy like Hamilton $100M or Fielder $150M, but that is all fluff since they both went for $50M-$100M more.

---------------------

Okay, so you just said that getting high quality free agents here isn't going to happen with Z (who, rumor has it, is going to have his contract extended soon).

....while at the same time you've been talking about how important it is to get free agents to build up the team.

use logic, and explain to me why the two statements above, both of which you have agreed with, don't work together.

good journey.

 

[NWinAZ]

Okay, so you just said that getting high quality free agents here isn't going to happen with Z (who, rumor has it, is going to have his contract extended soon).

....while at the same time you've been talking about how important it is to get free agents to build up the team.

use logic, and explain to me why the two statements above, both of which you have agreed with, don't work together.

good journey.

The statements have nothing to do with one another. One statement shows the blueprint of building up talent in a hurry. Just because Jack hasn't and probably won't bring in top free agents doesn't mean the blueprint is flawed, it just means the GM is.

I also believe peace is better than war, but we will never have a world w/o war but does that mean my original statement is wrong? Of course not. You are really trying hard to argue a case that just isn't there.

And for the record, I am not saying you go crazy signing free agents year after year. You need a good short term run at adding free agents to stock the shelves, if you will, of talent. Then you can go back and hit the other two avenues hard again (trades and drafts) like the Cardinals and Red Sox and such. Again, Cardinals had 75% (estimate) home grown talent on their roster, but most of their big core were outsiders (Beltran, Holliday, Wainwright, Mujica, Westbrook, Rob Johnson). They get it.

 

[seahawksfan234]

I say increase to $100M which is less than past years and use the extra $25M TV money giving you $125M which was more than my earlier suggestion which said we could afford Napoli, Hart, Choo, Ellsbury, and a top SP and be around $117M. Use the extra $8M for a closer.

Or better yet...

We could take the extra $25M TV revenue, and build some modern art around the stadium!!! Great long term investment!!! Maybe some glass art, or-or-or that eraser looking thing they have near the waterfront!

It would go great with the new big screen and would really give some more expression to what this team is all about!

In all seriousness the team would much rather pocket that revenue than actually spend it on players. We all know that. The front office realizes that adding $40m or so to payroll will not give them $40m in returns. If we had a fringe contender and $40m would put them into a playoff hunt then it would be worth the money but at this point $40m in players sends us from terrible to average/above average, which will not net them $40m in revenue to make up for the $40m they spent on players. The business decision to maximize profits at this point is to spend enough to maintain some level of enthusiasm while still saving as much as possible to add to the bottom line.

I could see the team spending $20m or so to generate a greater level of enthusiasm but probably not more than that. Although they will probably tell Jack to trade for someone instead of actually spend money. Because if the Mariners trade for someone they get to keep payroll where it currently is, while still get the profits of adding a big name player.

Despite being connected to some expensive big name free agents last year, the Mariners traded for their two bats (Morse and Morales) and it was significantly cheaper than adding say Hamilton and Swisher. Or Swisher and Bourn.

 

[cezero]

The statements have nothing to do with one another...

Wow.

Anyhoo, I think we're really on the same page on this issue, though we go about describing it in different ways.

No doubt we'll be having some fun discussion when/if Z starts making moves this winter.

 

[cezero]

Notice how Ellsbury's name was a big one for Seattle up until the WS ended. Within a few days of the final game, Ellsbury's name and Seattle were pretty much no longer connected at all.

The best free agents won't come here. The only hitter we've gotten worth a shit in half a decade is Morales, who was acquired via trade. It makes having to make strategic trades all that much more important for this club.

This is basic logic.

 

[NWinAZ]

Despite being connected to some expensive big name free agents last year, the Mariners traded for their two bats (Morse and Morales) and it was significantly cheaper than adding say Hamilton and Swisher. Or Swisher and Bourn.

Agreed, but we had 2 marginal vet type players to deal for them in Vargas and Jaso. We gave up a guy on a one year deal for a guy on a one year deal. The only benefit was that Morales gets us back a draft pick, potentially, and I don't believe Vargas did the same for Angels. Morse gave us a good month. How happy would we all be if we dealt say Paxton and Franklin for those 2? Ouch!

 

[NWinAZ]

Wow.

Anyhoo, I think we're really on the same page on this issue, though we go about describing it in different ways.

No doubt we'll be having some fun discussion when/if Z starts making moves this winter.

I know are long history of doing nothing. I know GMZ is way over his head with this job. I also believe we won't do anything worth note this offseason. I am just stating what needs to happen for us to get back into any type of race. We need to add talent w/o giving it up. Just look at last offseason as mentioned above. We gave up Jaso and Vargas for Morales and Morse and we improved how much? Nada! 2 top prospects and 2 bullpen arms were getting us Upton...yuk! I am all for making another Randy Johnson or Jay Buhner deal, but those are done how often? Especially by our top management team?

I agree we are on the same thought process on this and we both agree that doing it the right way is not necessarily the Mariner way. For me the Mariners offseasons are like playing the lotto. I don't expect to win, but it give me a chance to just dream for awhile and play the 'What If' game.

 

[cezero]

I know are long history of doing nothing. I know GMZ is way over his head with this job. I also believe we won't do anything worth note this offseason. I am just stating what needs to happen for us to get back into any type of race. We need to add talent w/o giving it up. Just look at last offseason as mentioned above. We gave up Jaso and Vargas for Morales and Morse and we improved how much? Nada! 2 top prospects and 2 bullpen arms were getting us Upton...yuk! I am all for making another Randy Johnson or Jay Buhner deal, but those are done how often? Especially by our top management team?

I agree we are on the same thought process on this and we both agree that doing it the right way is not necessarily the Mariner way. For me the Mariners offseasons are like playing the lotto. I don't expect to win, but it give me a chance to just dream for awhile and play the 'What If' game.

I hear you. On all counts, really. I'd love to see some even decent FA signings.

If this team somehow becomes relevant again and does it while holding onto all of its best prospects, I'll be as happy as I could possibly be.

 

[seahawksfan234]

Agreed, but we had 2 marginal vet type players to deal for them in Vargas and Jaso. We gave up a guy on a one year deal for a guy on a one year deal. The only benefit was that Morales gets us back a draft pick, potentially, and I don't believe Vargas did the same for Angels. Morse gave us a good month. How happy would we all be if we dealt say Paxton and Franklin for those 2? Ouch!

I have a feeling Morales stays here. Not sure anyone will give up a pick for a DH.

The Mariners would have been better off supplementing those trades with a signing like Swisher. Despite the drop off in his batting average Swisher still sported a real solid WAR.

Mike Morse was just bad luck. The Mariners tend to have a lot of that.

 

[NWinAZ]

I have a feeling Morales stays here. Not sure anyone will give up a pick for a DH.

The Mariners would have been better off supplementing those trades with a signing like Swisher. Despite the drop off in his batting average Swisher still sported a real solid WAR.

Mike Morse was just bad luck. The Mariners tend to have a lot of that.

I agree with Morales staying. Paying him big money and giving up a pick doesn't make much sense for a team. Question then becomes what will we get him for? 3/$30M? That wouldn't be the worst thing with the prices these days.

I liked Swisher as well. Stats don't always sum up a players value. He is a gamer. Big heart, good teammate who doesn't let teammates settle.

I had no problem with the Morse deal at the time nor do I have it now. He started hot, got hurt, and was never the same. This might not be popular, but I would take him back on a one year incentive heavy deal with maybe an option for year 2. They could do worse and probably will.

 

[NWinAZ]

I hear you. On all counts, really. I'd love to see some even decent FA signings.

If this team somehow becomes relevant again and does it while holding onto all of its best prospects, I'll be as happy as I could possibly be.

Ya that would be the dream. Did you read the ESPN Insider article regarding other baseball people saying M's are ready for the next level. Here is the first few paragraphs from it:

"There are more than a few rising young executives -- and older executives, for that matter -- who are outside of the Seattle Mariners' organization and looking in, and they are wistful, wishing they could grab the Mariners’ steering wheel.

First and foremost, they love the city, curled around Puget Sound, surrounded by fir trees and hemlocks; they see it as a great place to live. They love the ballpark, underrated and underappreciated. They see potential in the passion of a fan base that is dormant after more than a decade of struggles.

They see the Mariners as the great sleeping giant in baseball.

They see a possible financial powerhouse, given that the Mariners own their own television network."

 

[NWinAZ]

Here is the full article if interested. After all this talk in it about how M's have money to go crazy with, look at the lineup they end up with:

There are more than a few rising young executives -- and older executives, for that matter -- who are outside of the Seattle Mariners' organization and looking in, and they are wistful, wishing they could grab the Mariners’ steering wheel.

First and foremost, they love the city, curled around Puget Sound, surrounded by fir trees and hemlocks; they see it as a great place to live. They love the ballpark, underrated and underappreciated. They see potential in the passion of a fan base that is dormant after more than a decade of struggles.

They see the Mariners as the great sleeping giant in baseball.

They see a possible financial powerhouse, given that the Mariners own their own television network.

They see a team saturated with prospects taken near the top of the draft. Some, like Dustin Ackley, haven’t played as well as expected, but from catcher Mike Zunino to third baseman Kyle Seager to shortstop Nick Franklin to outfielder Abraham Almonte to pitcher Taijuan Walker -- who is among the game’s best prospects -- they see talent.

The Mariners have become a place where veteran players don’t want to go, but rival executives see that changing in a hurry, perhaps because Seattle has enormous growth potential with its payroll -- monstrous growth potential -- or, if you will, potential to become a baseball monster.

Felix Hernandez is signed through 2019. And . . . that’s it. They have no other long-term obligations after 2014. None. They are like a start-up company with loads of cash and talent and no debt.

The Mariners have told other clubs and agents that they intend to sign a No. 2-type starting pitcher this winter. There are possibly four who fit that description: Masahiro Tanaka, Matt Garza, Ervin Santana and Ubaldo Jimenez. They have indicated they will sign a closer, whether it be Brian Wilson or Fernando Rodney. They want to sign two power hitters, and maybe that’ll turn out to be Nelson Cruz and Kendrys Morales.

Here’s the thing: If they wanted to, they could aim higher, rival executives say.

“They could be the team that goes after Robinson Cano,” one official said. “It might cost them $30 million [per year] to sign him” -- because the Mariners would have to overpay to land him -- “but they could do that. They could sign Jacoby Ellsbury. They could do both, easily, and make it fit.”

Oh, sure, signing Cano and Ellsbury would take the Mariners’ payroll into the range of $120 million to $140 million two or three years down the road, but given the growth of the sport, a payroll of $120 million is no longer outsized; that’s middle to upper-middle class.

Cano and/or Ellsbury could be greatly overpriced for the Mariners (and perhaps impossible; it may be that Cano would never leave New York to play for Seattle). But that would be the cost of jump-starting this franchise, and I’d rather overpay one or both of them than to pay inflated market prices on second- and third-tier players, because Cano and Ellsbury are elite, and for the Mariners, they would be game-changers. This brings to mind the thought process once explained by longtime Dodgers GM Buzzie Bavasi: You would rather overpay a great player than give one nickel more than you have to to a player who can’t be great.

Imagine if Seattle opened 2014 with this lineup:

CF Ellsbury

SS Brad Miller

2B Cano

3B Seager

DH Raul Ibanez

1B Justin Smoak

C Zunino

RF Michael Saunders

LF Abraham Almonte

P Felix Hernandez

To repeat: We don’t even know if Cano would seriously think about leaving the Yankees and ditching his building legacy there to play for more money in Seattle. We don’t know if, when push comes to shove, Ellsbury would rather take $100 million to stay in Boston, where he has shared in two championships, than to take $140 million from Seattle.

But the Mariners could try. They could court Cano and Ellsbury together the way the Heat did with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh -- to make it clear that neither would be alone, and that they could be the start of something great together.

There’s a lot that’s gone wrong with the Mariners. But there’s one thing that many drooling rival executives love about them: You look at how they’re set up, you look at the talent, you look at the financial structure and the network and the ballpark, and you can dream big.

 

[NWinAZ]

Here is the full article if interested. After all this talk in it about how M's have money to go crazy with, look at the lineup they end up with:

There are more than a few rising young executives -- and older executives, for that matter -- who are outside of the Seattle Mariners' organization and looking in, and they are wistful, wishing they could grab the Mariners’ steering wheel.

First and foremost, they love the city, curled around Puget Sound, surrounded by fir trees and hemlocks; they see it as a great place to live. They love the ballpark, underrated and underappreciated. They see potential in the passion of a fan base that is dormant after more than a decade of struggles.

They see the Mariners as the great sleeping giant in baseball.

They see a possible financial powerhouse, given that the Mariners own their own television network.

They see a team saturated with prospects taken near the top of the draft. Some, like Dustin Ackley, haven’t played as well as expected, but from catcher Mike Zunino to third baseman Kyle Seager to shortstop Nick Franklin to outfielder Abraham Almonte to pitcher Taijuan Walker -- who is among the game’s best prospects -- they see talent.

The Mariners have become a place where veteran players don’t want to go, but rival executives see that changing in a hurry, perhaps because Seattle has enormous growth potential with its payroll -- monstrous growth potential -- or, if you will, potential to become a baseball monster.

Felix Hernandez is signed through 2019. And . . . that’s it. They have no other long-term obligations after 2014. None. They are like a start-up company with loads of cash and talent and no debt.

The Mariners have told other clubs and agents that they intend to sign a No. 2-type starting pitcher this winter. There are possibly four who fit that description: Masahiro Tanaka, Matt Garza, Ervin Santana and Ubaldo Jimenez. They have indicated they will sign a closer, whether it be Brian Wilson or Fernando Rodney. They want to sign two power hitters, and maybe that’ll turn out to be Nelson Cruz and Kendrys Morales.

Here’s the thing: If they wanted to, they could aim higher, rival executives say.

“They could be the team that goes after Robinson Cano,” one official said. “It might cost them $30 million [per year] to sign him” -- because the Mariners would have to overpay to land him -- “but they could do that. They could sign Jacoby Ellsbury. They could do both, easily, and make it fit.”

Oh, sure, signing Cano and Ellsbury would take the Mariners’ payroll into the range of $120 million to $140 million two or three years down the road, but given the growth of the sport, a payroll of $120 million is no longer outsized; that’s middle to upper-middle class.

Cano and/or Ellsbury could be greatly overpriced for the Mariners (and perhaps impossible; it may be that Cano would never leave New York to play for Seattle). But that would be the cost of jump-starting this franchise, and I’d rather overpay one or both of them than to pay inflated market prices on second- and third-tier players, because Cano and Ellsbury are elite, and for the Mariners, they would be game-changers. This brings to mind the thought process once explained by longtime Dodgers GM Buzzie Bavasi: You would rather overpay a great player than give one nickel more than you have to to a player who can’t be great.

Imagine if Seattle opened 2014 with this lineup:

CF Ellsbury

SS Brad Miller

2B Cano

3B Seager

DH Raul Ibanez

1B Justin Smoak

C Zunino

RF Michael Saunders

LF Abraham Almonte

P Felix Hernandez

To repeat: We don’t even know if Cano would seriously think about leaving the Yankees and ditching his building legacy there to play for more money in Seattle. We don’t know if, when push comes to shove, Ellsbury would rather take $100 million to stay in Boston, where he has shared in two championships, than to take $140 million from Seattle.

But the Mariners could try. They could court Cano and Ellsbury together the way the Heat did with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh -- to make it clear that neither would be alone, and that they could be the start of something great together.

There’s a lot that’s gone wrong with the Mariners. But there’s one thing that many drooling rival executives love about them: You look at how they’re set up, you look at the talent, you look at the financial structure and the network and the ballpark, and you can dream big.

 

[wazzu31]

I know are long history of doing nothing. I know GMZ is way over his head with this job. I also believe we won't do anything worth note this offseason. I am just stating what needs to happen for us to get back into any type of race. We need to add talent w/o giving it up. Just look at last offseason as mentioned above. We gave up Jaso and Vargas for Morales and Morse and we improved how much? Nada! 2 top prospects and 2 bullpen arms were getting us Upton...yuk! I am all for making another Randy Johnson or Jay Buhner deal, but those are done how often? Especially by our top management team?

I agree we are on the same thought process on this and we both agree that doing it the right way is not necessarily the Mariner way. For me the Mariners offseasons are like playing the lotto. I don't expect to win, but it give me a chance to just dream for awhile and play the 'What If' game.

The Mariners cannot do those type of deals because they cannot develop their own talent. People forget that both of those guys actually grew leaps and bounds after playing a few years. Randy was helped greatly by the trade for Dan Wilson and getting a veteran who had something still in him in Bosio.

 

[wazzu31]

Here is the full article if interested. After all this talk in it about how M's have money to go crazy with, look at the lineup they end up with:

There are more than a few rising young executives -- and older executives, for that matter -- who are outside of the Seattle Mariners' organization and looking in, and they are wistful, wishing they could grab the Mariners’ steering wheel.

First and foremost, they love the city, curled around Puget Sound, surrounded by fir trees and hemlocks; they see it as a great place to live. They love the ballpark, underrated and underappreciated. They see potential in the passion of a fan base that is dormant after more than a decade of struggles.

They see the Mariners as the great sleeping giant in baseball.

They see a possible financial powerhouse, given that the Mariners own their own television network.

They see a team saturated with prospects taken near the top of the draft. Some, like Dustin Ackley, haven’t played as well as expected, but from catcher Mike Zunino to third baseman Kyle Seager to shortstop Nick Franklin to outfielder Abraham Almonte to pitcher Taijuan Walker -- who is among the game’s best prospects -- they see talent.

The Mariners have become a place where veteran players don’t want to go, but rival executives see that changing in a hurry, perhaps because Seattle has enormous growth potential with its payroll -- monstrous growth potential -- or, if you will, potential to become a baseball monster.

Felix Hernandez is signed through 2019. And . . . that’s it. They have no other long-term obligations after 2014. None. They are like a start-up company with loads of cash and talent and no debt.

The Mariners have told other clubs and agents that they intend to sign a No. 2-type starting pitcher this winter. There are possibly four who fit that description: Masahiro Tanaka, Matt Garza, Ervin Santana and Ubaldo Jimenez. They have indicated they will sign a closer, whether it be Brian Wilson or Fernando Rodney. They want to sign two power hitters, and maybe that’ll turn out to be Nelson Cruz and Kendrys Morales.

Here’s the thing: If they wanted to, they could aim higher, rival executives say.

“They could be the team that goes after Robinson Cano,” one official said. “It might cost them $30 million [per year] to sign him” -- because the Mariners would have to overpay to land him -- “but they could do that. They could sign Jacoby Ellsbury. They could do both, easily, and make it fit.”

Oh, sure, signing Cano and Ellsbury would take the Mariners’ payroll into the range of $120 million to $140 million two or three years down the road, but given the growth of the sport, a payroll of $120 million is no longer outsized; that’s middle to upper-middle class.

Cano and/or Ellsbury could be greatly overpriced for the Mariners (and perhaps impossible; it may be that Cano would never leave New York to play for Seattle). But that would be the cost of jump-starting this franchise, and I’d rather overpay one or both of them than to pay inflated market prices on second- and third-tier players, because Cano and Ellsbury are elite, and for the Mariners, they would be game-changers. This brings to mind the thought process once explained by longtime Dodgers GM Buzzie Bavasi: You would rather overpay a great player than give one nickel more than you have to to a player who can’t be great.

Imagine if Seattle opened 2014 with this lineup:

CF Ellsbury

SS Brad Miller

2B Cano

3B Seager

DH Raul Ibanez

1B Justin Smoak

C Zunino

RF Michael Saunders

LF Abraham Almonte

P Felix Hernandez

To repeat: We don’t even know if Cano would seriously think about leaving the Yankees and ditching his building legacy there to play for more money in Seattle. We don’t know if, when push comes to shove, Ellsbury would rather take $100 million to stay in Boston, where he has shared in two championships, than to take $140 million from Seattle.

But the Mariners could try. They could court Cano and Ellsbury together the way the Heat did with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh -- to make it clear that neither would be alone, and that they could be the start of something great together.

There’s a lot that’s gone wrong with the Mariners. But there’s one thing that many drooling rival executives love about them: You look at how they’re set up, you look at the talent, you look at the financial structure and the network and the ballpark, and you can dream big.

This is the exact problem. The FO has all the tools to turn the franchise into the cream of the crop in the AL West easily. This franchise is seriously run like that analogy of a start up company where there goal is make it just appealing enough for someone to overpay to buy them out.

 

[blstoker]

I know are long history of doing nothing. I know GMZ is way over his head with this job. I also believe we won't do anything worth note this offseason. I am just stating what needs to happen for us to get back into any type of race. We need to add talent w/o giving it up. Just look at last offseason as mentioned above. We gave up Jaso and Vargas for Morales and Morse and we improved how much? Nada! 2 top prospects and 2 bullpen arms were getting us Upton...yuk! I am all for making another Randy Johnson or Jay Buhner deal, but those are done how often? Especially by our top management team?

1) I was criticized for saying I would rather have Vargas than Morales because we hadn't improved on offense at all and our pitching took a huge hit over the offseason. I didn't mind the Jaso deal nearly as much, though had Morse not gotten hurt, I think he has more impact the offense than Morales does.

2) To get the Randy Johnson deal, the M's traded away their ace. It's hard to imagine the M's trading Felix for anything, let alone a strikeout pitcher with major accuracy issues. The forgotten member of the trade a lot of the time was Brian Holman, who if he stays healthy could've given the Mariners a duo like Maddux and Glavine were for the Braves.

Interesting that a 2nd round pick in 1981 became Mark Langston, traded for Randy Johnson, Traded for Freddy Garcia. That pick was linked to 3 of the M's top 5 career pitchers that accounted for 280 wins.

3) The Jay Buhner trade is one of the epic trade wins in MLB history. I don't know what the Yankees thought they were getting with Phelps, but they didn't get it. This is a classic example of trading a prospect because you have a crowded position, a lot of the time you don't get what you give up.

4) There is a much longer list of prospects the Mariners had and traded that turned into solid players for at least a year or two for someone else:

• Terrmel Sledge
• Anthony Varvaro
• Kevin Gryboski
• Buddy Black
• Jim Mecir
• Denny Stark
• Desi Relaford
• Brett Boone
• Joe Mays
• Mike Hampton
• Chris Tillman
• Dave Burba
• Adam Jones
• Jose Cruz
• Jason Varitek
• Ron Villone
• Shawn Estes

And this list only includes those drafted in the first 20 rounds of the draft, and no international free agent signings like David Ortiz.